Planning ahead is the key to dining out when you have IBS or IBS-C. If you're prepared, you can order and eat foods that won't irritate your bowels.

Having irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or IBS-C (IBS with constipation) doesn’t have to keep you from enjoying a pleasurable meal at a restaurant or party.

Dining Out With IBS: Study Beforehand

The key, notes Amy Foxx-Orenstein, DO, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., is to plan ahead. Learn what’s on the menu, whether at a restaurant or party. If your choices will be limited, “you might want to eat something beforehand to take away your hunger,” advises Dr. Foxx-Orenstein. Besides, she adds, eating more frequent, smaller meals can help keep symptoms at bay. Overeating, whether at home or out, is a common trigger for IBS and IBS-C.

Planning ahead also helps alleviate anxiety— important because anxiety and stress can aggravate irritable bowel syndrome in some patients. Fortunately, these days, you’re likely to find restaurant menus online. Chefs are usually willing to accommodate special diets, and you can ask if they will prepare a dish without the onions or cheese that may trigger your IBS. Obviously, you don’t want to order any food that you know is a trigger and risk an unnecessary bout of bloating, cramps, or diarrhea.

If you’re going to a party, ask the host what’s on the menu. “If veggies with a high-fat dip are the only hors d’oeuvres, you might want to bring along some pretzels to nibble on,” says Foxx-Orenstein. Your host will understand.

Watch what you eat earlier in the day. This way, once you do get to a restaurant for dinner, you won’t have to worry that your breakfast or lunch choices will start to bother you just as you sit down to eat again.

Dining Out With IBS: More Strategies

Here are some additional tips for making your dining-out experience more pleasurable if you have IBS or IBS-C:

Ask where the restrooms are located. Knowing where the nearest bathroom is can help offset some of your anxiety. You may even want to ask to be seated near it.

Consider sipping peppermint or ginger tea. “Although research is inconclusive, peppermint or ginger may ease abdominal discomfort in people with IBS. If you’re having symptoms at the restaurant, ordering a cup of peppermint or ginger tea would be a reasonable treatment to try,” Foxx-Orenstein advises.

Stay away from spice. “Avoid mixing spices,” Foxx-Orenstein says. “I wouldn’t order pizza and jambalaya — who knows which would trigger your symptoms.” Simply prepared lean meats, grilled chicken, salmon, rice dishes, and pasta without the red sauce may be your best bets. Also stay away from acidic salads — those that are heavy on the tomatoes or contain vinegar in the dressing.

Time your medication. If you’re taking medication to manage your symptoms, you may want to take it shortly before you go to the restaurant or party, Foxx-Orenstein says. Consider how long it will take to be seated and actually served; that well-timed dose of medication may help you feel better while you’re dining out.

Watch what and how much you drink. Alcohol is a common symptom trigger for people with IBS and IBS-C. “Alcohol can be an irritant to the intestinal tract the same way it can be to the bladder,” Foxx-Orenstein says. “Caffeine and carbonated beverages also can add air to the intestinal tract and sometimes trigger symptoms, so you might want to avoid these drinks or certainly not have too many of them.”

Some people with IBS and IBS-C shy away from restaurants and parties because they are concerned about feeling bloated and gassy while they are out. With a little extra planning though, you shouldn’t have to worry. If you know what’s on the menu ahead of time, it will not only make it easier for you to choose the right options, but will also reduce your anxiety about the experience so you can simply relax and have fun.

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:verify here.

Advertising Notice

This Site and third parties who place advertisements on this Site may collect and use information about
your visits to this Site and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of
interest to you. If you would like to obtain more information about these advertising practices and to make
choices about online behavioral advertising, please click here.